#DemocracySpring arrests: No First Amendment rights?

A group called "Democracy Spring" has staged a protest outside the US capitol, resulting in the arrest of over 400 people. The protesters, a majority of which are elderly, are fighting money in politics and voter ID laws. The U.S. Capitol Police released a statement on Monday evening about the arrests saying, "More than 400 individuals have been arrested for unlawful demonstration activity, and are being processed using mass arrest procedures." Although the protests were calm and orderly, the statement said those arrested would be charged with "crowding, obstructing and incommoding."

Let me understand this: "unlawful demonstration activity" such as “crowding and obstruction” takes priority over our First Amendment rights? How can the country sit back and allow this happen whether we agree with it or not? Who made the call to arrest these innocent people?

I’ve run into this before during the Occupy movement on Wall Street. Authorities bring up a local ordinance to evict demonstrators. My immediate response is this: where in the Constitution does it say a local ordinance overridesthe First Amendment? Where does it say a local law can override the Bill of Rights? You don't even need to be a lawyer to know this.

Why are we allowing this? How can our judicial system allow this to happen? How can they allow this to go on? If these protesters are not putting anyone in danger and they are peacefully protesting, then the First Amendment of the United States of America says they are empowered to do so. End of story.

This is outrageous. If we don’t take our country back, we will lose it entirely. Is this 1930’s Germany?

It’s absurd. I hope this doesn't stop the #DemocracySpring movement, which I am in full support of. Maybe it’s time the Oath Keepers stepped in to protect these protesters’ constitutional rights.

This is exercising your First Amendment right. People need to understand that you don’t need to agree with the movement for them to have the right to protest. Someday, you’re going to want to exercise your right to peaceful protest, and you won’t be able to because the government’s taken it away. I wish there was some way we could charge the officials who arrested them in the first place for violating their civil and constitutional rights. It’s too bad I’m not a lawyer or else I’d file the charges myself.